Apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. NELSON. DIVING APPARATUS.

No. 591,773. Patented Oct. 12,1897.

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(No Model.)

B. NELSON.

DIVING APPARATUS.

Patented Oct. 12,1897.-

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UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

BERNHARD NELSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN P. JAOOBSON, OF SAME PLACE.

DIVING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,773, dated October 12, 1897. Application fi l d March 18,1897. Serial No. 628,134. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNHARD NELSON, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Diving Apparatus, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the speciiication, in explaining its nature.

My invention relates to means for working under water at a greater depth than is now practicable. With the divers armor in use it is impossible to go lower than eighteen or twenty fathoms, and the diver cannot remain below more than a few minutes at a time. It often happens that a sunken vessel lying lower than twenty fathoms, under the present conditions, must be abandoned. I have invented an apparatus which enables a much greater depth to be reached and maintained as long as is necessary.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a view in elevation of my diving apparatus in position, with the lower end resting on the bottom. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view in detail to which reference will be hereinafter made.

In practicing my invention I make use of a tube or stand-pipe A, of sheet-iron or other suitable material, which is lowered into the the water. One end is closed and rests upon the bottom, while the other end is al waysabove the level of the water and is open to allow air and light to penetrate to the lower end of the tube. The tube is made sufiiciently large to allow of two or more men working within it at the same time. I form the tube in sections for convenience of transportation, each section being flanged and secured by bolts to the flanges of the adjacent section. The sections are preferably about twenty-five feet in length and six feet in diameter, though these dimensions may be varied, if desired.

The lowest section A is provided with a flat bottom a, to which may be secured by bolts a chamber B for holdingballast B, the chamber being adapted to be opened by the rope I) to discharge the ballast when it is desired to raise the apparatus. It will not be neces- 'c whateverv the position of the lever.

sary in ordinary cases to use the ballast, and I do not regard this part of the apparatus as essential. In the lowest section A of the tube I provide the dead-lights a, to enable the operators to look out underneath the water,and, also, the lamp-chamber a adapted to receive an electric or oil lamp. By means of this there will be sufficient light to enable the operators to work without difficulty at a depth to which the sun does not penetrate.

In orderto enable the workmen inside the tube to work on a wreck or other object outside, I provide the levers O O O 0 which can be moved. in various directions, as will be presently described. They may be provided on their ends with grapples of diiferent descriptions in accordance with the exigencies of the work being done. The lever C is formed with the elbow o and the short arm a. It has a certain amount of travel from side to side in a horizontal plane in the box 0 bolted to the tube-section A. Stuffingboxes are provided to prevent the entrance of water from the outside of the tube.

The levers C C are similar in mode of operation. They may be of any desired shape, and I have shown them with offset sections or elbows c and furnished with handles 0 They may be drawn in or pushed out through the side of the tube and have vertical motion in the slides 0 formed in the boxes 0 bolted to the side of the tube-section A. They have also motion from side to side to some extent, and the ends are thus enabled to be moved in the arc of a circle about the slide as a pivot. Each slide-box c is provided with a slideway 0 in which the slide-block 0 travels. The block may be made in one or two pieces and is adapted to cover the opening of the slide n this way the entrance of water is prevented when the levers are moved in a vertical direction, and the same result is secured on the horizontal movement of the levers in and out or from side to side by the stuffing-boxes c The lever C is pivoted in the box 0 attached to the side of the tube above the other levers. It is adapted to have motion in a vertical direction on its pivot, the end of the lever describing an arc of a circle.

By the use of one or more of the levers objects outside the tube can be managed with ease. Thus by the use-of lever C, which travels in a horizontal plane, lever 0 which describes the arc of a circle in a vertical plane, and lever 0 which moves vertically as well as in, out, and from side to side, a chain can be cast around an object, which can then be raised by the accompanying vessel in charge of the operations. I

D is a screw having a blunt end, which may be screwed in or out. It is useful in breaking open a dead-light in a sunken vessel or in making holes in the sides or plates of a vessel or any similar operations.

The diving-tube or stand-pipe is anchored in position after it has been lowered to the bottom, and if it is desired to-change the position afterward the anchors may be moved by the vessel in charge.

By the use ofmy improved apparatus a much greater depth may be attained than is now practicable, and it is therefore possible to get at many sunken vessels which cannot now be reached. With a tube having a diameter of six feet two men can work at once, and a greater diameter may be provided, if desired ,though convenience in transportation requires that the sections be made no bigger than is absolutely necessary. All operations also which can be done by a diver can be accomplished with my apparatus, and the men can stay down indefinitely, as the interior of the tube is open to the air. Thus a great saving in time is made, which is of much importance.

Another advantage gained by the use of my invention is that the operations can be carried on during the evening and night, as the artificial light which I provide in the bottom of the stand-pipe will enable the workmen to work in the night-time. This is also an important thing, as it often happens that it is necessary to proceed as quickly as possible with operations on a sunken vessel in order to complete the work beforeany storm arises. At present it is very often necessary to suspend operations during a storm, while by the use of my invention the saving of time is so great that this will not often be the case. Electric lights may be provided at any desired positions in the stand-pipe, in order to enable the work to be carried on during the night or on dark days, and I also make use of a telephone for providing communication with the vessel in chargeof the work.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a diving apparatus, the combination of the stand-pipe having the closed-end section A provided with the levers O, 0, C C and the ballast-chamber B controlled by the rope I), as and for the purposes described.

2. In a diving apparatus, the stand-pipe A, the end section A, the lever G movable in a horizontal plane, the levers C, O movable vertically and horizontally and the lever C movable in the arc of a circle, as and for the purposes described.

3. In a diving apparatus, the stand-pipe A having the closed-end section A, the levers C, 0 the slide 0 the slideway c and the slide-block 0 as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination in a diving apparatus of the stand-pipe A having the closed-end section A, the levers O, O, 0 O movable as described and the blunt-pointed screw D, as

and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 16th day of March, 1897, in the presence of two witnesses.

1 BERNHARD NELSON.

WVitnesses:

J. P. J AOOBSON, JAMES A. LOWELL. 

